DANIEL SIERADSKI

New York—Stop the Zionization of America, a grassroots organization representing hundreds of citizens concerned with the encroachment of Zionist ideology and Talmudic law on American life, is calling on its supporters to oppose the establishment of a new Jewish community center (JCC) in lower Manhattan. The JCC would be located only two blocks from the New York Stock Exchange, widely seen as ground zero for the 2008 housing market meltdown that gutted the U.S. economy.

“These people have no respect for our way of life,” said movement spokesman Martin Frank, referring to the Jewish bankers, traders and hedge fund managers who oversaw and even profited from the financial collapse. “Millions of Americans lost their jobs, their homes, and their financial security. And these bastards are building themselves a synagogue with an indoor racket club and olympic-size swimming pool right next to the scene of the crime? I don’t think so.”

Allan Finkelstein, President of the Jewish Community Center Association, called Frank “a bigot” and expressed shock at what he said was an attitude of “collective punishment for the actions of a few people who happen to be Jewish.”

“First of all,” said Finkelstein, “it’s not a synagogue.  Second of all, just because a few Jews happen to do something bad that doesn’t mean that that kind of behavior is endemic or essential to the character of all Jewish people.”

But Frank disagrees. He pointed to several instances within the Talmud, the book of Jewish ritual law, of rabbis commenting on the permissibility of Jews stealing from non-Jews. “This is part of their culture,” he said. “Unless the JCC vocally and publicly denounces this ideology and distances themselves from their crisis-profiteering donors — including returning the money pilfered from the public — there’s no reason we should trust their motivations.”

Frank then exhibited a graph linking dozens of individuals alleged to have profited from securities fraud during the meltdown to the Jewish community center project, including former Bear Stearns chairman Alan ‘Ace’ Greenberg who received over $60 million in executive compensation annually during his tenure at Stearns. Before the firm’s notorious collapse in 2008, Greenberg was the top fundraiser for the UJA Federation of New York, which also financially supports the new JCC.

“This is anti-Semitism, pure and simple,” said Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League. “The idea that any time a Jew builds a building they have to be vetted for their motivations and funding sources is absurd and noxious.”

On Friday, Sara Najjar-Wilson, President of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, expressed her organization’s concern about the new Jewish community center, stating that, “While we do not believe there is any place in our public discourse for bigoted  allegations, we are nonetheless concerned about the message sent by building this new Jewish community center at our economic ground zero. Building so close to the scene of this tragedy would just be so painful for so many people. While it’s completely within their rights, it just isn’t the right thing to do.”

Asked whether she felt that concerns about Jewish motivations raised by the likes of Frank were legitimate, Najjar-Wilson said, “Look, people have lost everything they own at the hands of Jewish bankers and are pretty angry. I think their anguish entitles them to bigotry.”

The lower Manhattan community board votes later this week on whether or not to approve the new building.

/satire

I got married Monday morning in a brief civil ceremony, in advance of my real wedding in August. Here’s me and my lady, Mrs. Morrisa Golden-Sieradski, at Boro Hall right after we tied the knot.

Here I am on Al Jazeera English, along with my friend Sarah Chandler and noted Jewish sociologist Steven M. Cohen, discussing progressive Zionism in the wake of Israel’s interception of the Mavi Marmara.

My mother forwarded the following email to me this morning, from author Naomi Ragen:

—Original Message—
From: Naomi Ragen <redacted>
Date: Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:57:10 
To: <redacted>
Subject: Heavy weapons found in cargo of Mavi Marmara

Friends:

I cannot understand why no news station is broadcasting this information!!! Has everyone gone mad?

Naomi

HEAVY WEAPONS FOUND IN THE CARGO OF THE M/S. MAVI MARMARA FLOTILLA VESSEL.

This video shows that during the unloading of the Marmara boat in the port of Ashdod, behind the bags of flour were boxes of heavy weapons and ammunition: mortars, artillery shells, bazookas, without counting a trunk where more than one million euros was found intended for Hamas. This video should be widely distributed as evidence of why the IDF Naval commandos were dispatched to intercept the six vessels including the M/S Mavi Marmara. One wonders what is aboard the Irish vessel, the M/S. Rachel Corrie, that Israel will intercept sometime today when it approaches the Naval blockade line off the coast of Gaza. Clearly the Turkish AKP Islamist government is complicit in permitting this military cargo to be loaded on the ‘peaceful’ Free Gaza Flotilla. Please distribute this video widely. If you had any doubt about what was on the flotilla, here is the video. The French explains that the arms on display w ere hidden behind sacks of grain.

Have patience with this video. First there is a commercial for Pantene!  But
wait until it’s over. You won’t believe your eyes.

http://www.flix.co.il/tapuz/showVideo.asp?m=3423928

(The email went on to provide what is alleged to be an account from an Israeli soldier aboard the Mavi Marmara that I have truncated as it is not pertinent to this post.)

The problem with the video described above is that, while it does in fact show Israeli forces uncovering an illegal weapons cache hidden within a seized shipping container, it cannot possibly show freight seized from the Mavi Marmara, as the video is clearly dated November 4, 2009 and the video upload is dated November 5, 2009, a full seven months before the recent flotilla raid.

Also, in contradiction of the claimed presence of weapons aboard the Mavi Marmara is the fact that Israel’s U.S. embassy spokesman Mark Regev told Al Jazeera English last week that at no point has Israel even alleged that the Mavi Marmara was carrying heavy artillery. I will provide a link to Regev’s remarks, which I saw on air, if and when one becomes available.

Obviously, the situation around the flotilla raid is inflamed and complex enough without having fully falsified reports inserted into the discourse. It would behoove Israel’s supporters to avoid worsening their nation’s lot by faking evidence to support Israel’s already tenuous case.

[Update · 6:45pm] Naomi Ragen responds:

I sent out a correction immediately concerning the weapons video, which was from another ship last year. If you were on my list, you should have received the correction at the same time as the original. My apologies. But I’m glad you watched it. Now you see why Israelis have not choice but to stop these ships from getting to Gaza.

To which I, in turn, responded:

Oh, I don’t disagree at all with Israel’s right and responsibility to protect its citizens from incoming rocket fire, and I’m sympathetic to Israel’s desire to prevent arms shipments from reaching Gaza.

But I also think there are problems inherent in a) claiming that Gaza is no longer under occupation when Israel is controlling the flow of goods in and out of Gaza, b) enforcing a blockade that is claimed to prevent arms smuggling but which also prevents the entry of products that compete with Israeli brands sold in Gaza, c) engaging in arms interdiction efforts in international waters where Israel’s jurisdiction is questionable, d) holding others responsible for arms smuggling while providing a safe haven for international arms smugglers like Arcadi Gaydamak, and e) sending commandos to board a civilian ship loaded with international activists and journalists, even with probable cause, when the consequences of doing so are destructive to Israel’s long term public relations goals.

Raiding that ship was just a dumb idea, justifiable or not.

My report on this matter has since also been seconded (sort of) by the Israel Project (h/t ASC).